As industrialized nations transition from manufacturing-oriented economies to service-oriented economies, new accounting systems need to be developed to better account for the services being performed by service providers. Conventionally, the service provider keeps a time log which accounts for the time that he or she works on a particular project. Periodically, the time log is provided to the service provider's accounting department which sums the total hours worked on each project by all service providers. At the end of each reporting period, the accounting department invoices the client for the value of the services performed. The preparation of periodic billing statements is accomplished by calculating charges associated with the time spent on the client's matters, as reported in the daily logs, and further by adding any out-of-pocket expenses chargeable to the client for that period. The completed bills are typically reviewed by a supervisor or a responsible individual before they are sent to clients.
Traditionally, the time log is manually recorded on blank sheets of paper or on pre-formatted paper forms. For a number of reasons, the conventional pen and paper time logging approach can be inefficient and inaccurate. For instance, when the service provider is too absorbed in rendering his or her services, he or she may neglect to record his or her activities on the log. Further, papers used to log time is subject to being misplaced. When the activity is not logged, the service provider and his or her employer do not get credit for services rendered.
The pen and paper logging approach also potentially doubles the amount of work necessary to generate bills from the computer, as the information from the paper log needs to be converted into an electronic form suitable for further processing. Such conversion typically requires data entry services performed by one or more computer operators. Additionally, as these operators may make mistakes and errors which include, among others, inaccuracies associated with the misreading of the manual entries as well as the mistyping of the entries, the manual time log approach further requires a proof-reader to ensure correct data entries. As such, the paper and pen approach is inefficient and potentially inaccurate. The resulting uncaptured time represents lost opportunities to the service provider and his or her employer.
As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,492, a number of automated data entry systems are available which simplify the process of collecting time and expense information associated with work activities. For example, systems employing identification cards and card readers have been deployed in various manufacturing environments to track employees' time in handling work-related tasks. Other systems have been designed to provide time and billing information for doctors, lawyers and other professional service providers. However, these systems typically operate on desktop computers or portable and notebook computers. As such, these systems require some typing skills as well as familiarity with the operation of the computers. Further, time and billing systems require the users to have constant access to the computers. For busy executives, attorneys, doctors and other professionals who are constantly on their feet and who do not have ready access to desktop or notebook computers, such restrictions are overly burdensome. Thus, the time and billing system needs to be portable, cost effective, and easy to use in comparison with the pen and paper approach before such computerized solution can replace the conventional method of tracking time and expenses. In addition to being as easy to use as the pen and paper approach, the time and billing system needs to provide information integration advantages over the cheaper pen and paper approach to further justify the expense associated with such electronic time logging systems.